ClearPlay

Background:
ClearPlay ( www.clearplay.com), which makes software that filters sex, graphic violence and profanity from DVD movies, is a small company with a great product. However, ClearPlay also faces a steep uphill battle. On the eve of signing major retail and manufacturing agreements to launch a ClearPlay-enabled DVD player for the consumer market, the company was lumped in with film-censoring video store chains such as CleanFlicks and other film-editing technology companies. It was also named as a co-defendant in lawsuits filed by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) and eight of the major Hollywood studios over what they deemed to be trademark and copyright infringement. ClearPlay does not physically alter, or make a "derivative work" of, a movie, unlike the other defendants named. Its technology simply automatically fast-forwards past particular scenes that are deemed inappropriate by the consumer, and therefore feels it was unjustifiably included in the lawsuit.

In the midst of the legal maneuvering - and lacking any kind of PR or marketing budget - ClearPlay needed to get the word out about why it should not be involved in any of the lawsuits and also about the availability and efficacy of its product in enhancing the home viewing experience of consumers who choose to watch films free of graphically violent or sexual content.

Strategy:
INK implemented the following three-tiered strategy for ClearPlay to achieve the above objectives:

(1) Conducted an aggressive media relations campaign to make sure that any and all coverage about the DGA and Studios' lawsuits contained ClearPlay's message about how it was different than other companies named and its objection to inclusion in the suit, as well as emphasizing the rights of parents and other individuals to control how they view movies in their own homes. After discussions with ClearPlay and its legal counsel, we decided we needed to reframe the lawsuit into a broader public debate between Hollywood and parents/viewers rights, while positioning ClearPlay (rather than one if its competitors) as the champion of parents/viewers rights.

(2) Worked to recruit well-known persons to support the ClearPlay side of the issue and use them to place opinion pieces and letters to the editors in various publications covering the story.

(3) Showcased the potential of the ClearPlay filter technology by using demos of a prototype DVD player at and after the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), when media interest in DVD and other home entertainment products and consumer tech gadgets is at its highest.

Tactics:
(1) On the legal front, INK tracked the day-to-day proceedings of the lawsuits to ensure ClearPlay got out in front of every news story that was about the DGA and Hollywood studios' legal filings. INK and Clearplay worked together to draft press releases with especially colorful, fiery quotes from CEO Bill Aho that were sent out at the same time or just after the wires broke news on the legal front. INK also personally contacted a handful of reporters identified as regular followers of the legal story and set up interview with Bill Aho and ClearPlay attorney Andrew Bridges - sometimes accommodating reporters late into the evening and weekend when the stories typically broke.

(2) Proactively, INK secured spots for Bill Aho to appear on-air with shows such as CNNfn "Moneyline", CNBC "Power Lunch" ,and NBC "Today" show.

(3) We arranged one-on-one meetings with key reporters in entertainment business press, such as Wall Street Journal's John Lippman, Hollywood Reporter's Peter Kiefer and Los Angeles Times' Jon Healey, to brief them on ClearPlay's position and demo the technology.

(4) Pitched reporters for features on the technology of ClearPlay, as showcased in the prototype player, and the idea of this being a David-like company fighting the Goliath of Hollywood. (Used CES as the news hook for this when possible).

(5) Wrote letters to the editor of major publications that had run stories on the issue of the lawsuit.

(6) Helped academics and/or other independent supporters of ClearPlay write opinion pieces for the major newspapers.

(7) Assisted ClearPlay in the creation and writing of all press materials - from the CES press kit, to corporate fact sheets - and the assembly of a pressroom on the Web site, as well as selection of photos to supply media for accompanying artwork.

Our efforts netted ClearPlay coverage in all of the major entertainment publications (e.g., Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Los Angeles Times), as well as virtually every key business and mainstream media outlet (e.g., BusinessWeek, CNN, Forbes). The stories differentiated ClearPlay vis-à-vis the other defendants of the lawsuit and shifted the debate to focus on parental rights instead of copyright infringement.

Following the initial wave of coverage, Intel filed an amicus curiae, or "friend of the court", brief on behalf of ClearPlay. The brief stated that, "Recognizing [the studios'] novel theory would do more than remove a parent-friendly tool from the market; it would chill innovation and stifle the development of new generations of products, including products designed to empower the individual and enhance the consumer's lawful and reasonable enjoyment of lawfully acquired entertainment content."

In addition, on May 20th, the House subcommittee on Courts, the Internet & Intellectual Property, chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.), held a special hearing to specifically address the lawsuit between ClearPlay, the DGA and the studios. Representatives from the DGA and the major movie studios refused to appear, prompting Rep. Smith to state that he would submit legislation "to protect the right of parents to shield their children from violence, sex and profanity", if the lawsuit does not come to a quick settlement.

All told, INK has generated a substantial amount of coverage for ClearPlay in a variety of top-tier regional, national and international media outlets, reaching a combined audience of more than 80 million. Here are some of the media outlets that have covered ClearPlay:

Results:
Akron Beacon Journal
Associated Press (multiple times)
Austin American-Statesman
Boston Herald
BPI Entertainment News Wire
Broadcast News (CAN) (multiple times)
Bucks County Courier Times (PA)
BusinessWeek
Calgary Herald (Canada)
Carlisle Sentinel
Charleston Gazette (WV)
Charlotte Observer
Chattanooga Times Free Press
Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Tribune (multiple times)
Chicago Tribune (Opinion piece)
Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Christian Examiner
Cincinnati Post
CNBC (multiple times)
CNet Radio
CNN Headline News (multiple times)
CNN Saturday Morning News
CNN.com
CNNfn (multiple times)
Commercial Appeal
Consumer Electronics Daily (multiple times)
Contra Costa Times
Copley News Service
Coventry Evening Telegraph (UK)
Daily Mail (UK)
Daily Variety (multiple times)
Dallas Morning News
Der Spiegel (GER) (twice)
Deseret Morning News UT) (multiple times)
Die Welt (GER) (twice)
DSN Retailing Today
Dubuqe (IA) Telegraph Herald
El Mundo (Spain)
El Nuevo Herald (FL)
El Pais (Spain)
FNS DayBook
Forbes (twice)
Forbes.com
Fort Wayne News Sentinel
Herald Sun (Australia)
Hollywood Reporter (multiple times)
Houston Chronicle
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Inquirer (UK) (twice)
Inside Edition
Intelligencer (PA)
Irish Independent (Ireland)
IT Web (South Africa)
Kansas City Star
Knight-Ridder
LA Daily News
Lansing State Journal
Lexington Herald-Leader
Liverpool Daily Echo (UK)
Local news stations (coverage in virtually every U.S. market)
London Independent (UK)
Long Beach Press Telegram
Los Angeles Times (Letter to the Editor)
Los Angeles Times (Opinion piece)
Miami Herald
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Modesto Bee
Morning Call (PA)
MSNBC
National Journal's Congress Daily
National Journal's Tech Daily (twice)
NBC's Today show
New York Post
New Zealand Herald
News Gazette
News Journal (DE)
Newsday
Oakland Tribune
Observer-Reporter (PA)
PC Magazine
PC Magazine.com
PC World
Philadelphia Daily News (multiple times)
Philadelphia Inquirer
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
PR Week
Press Association News
Progressive Grocer Online
Reuters (twice)
Rocky Mountain News
Salt Lake Tribune (multiple times)
San Diego Union Tribune
San Francisco Chronicle (multiple times)
San Luis Obispo Tribune (Online)
Sarasota Herald Tribune (Online)
Scripps Howard News Service
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Times
Southern Illinoisan
St. Louis Post Dispatch
St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Stereophile GTHT
Sun Herald (MS)
Sunday Mail (Australia)
Sunday Mail (Australia)
Sunday Tasmanian (Australia)
Sunday Territorian (Australia)
Sunday Times (UK)
Sun-Herald (Sydney)
Telephony
The (Troy) Record
The Australian (Australia)
The Guardian (UK)
The Hindu (India)
The Mirror (UK)
The Post & Courier
The Record (NJ) (multiple times)
The Recorder (CA)
The State
The Sun
The Times (UK)
Times Union (NY) (multiple times)
Tulsa World (OK)
TWICE magazine (multiple times)
U.S. News & World Report
UPI (multiple times)
USA Today (multiple times)
Video Business (multiple times)
Village Voice (Letter to the Editor)
Washington Post
Wichita Eagle
Wisconsin (Madison) State Journal
World Magazine

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